I have these and I think it has to do a lot with the type of paper you use. I too have the W&N marker paper and I don't like it. I saw that you also used Bee watercolor paper but I don't care for their paper either. I have used these markers successfully on other papers however & I had no issues with creating washes & blending colors. I have used Strathmore watercolor paper & Fluid 100% cotton coldpress watercolor paper with good results. Also, I've noticed that if you don't let it dry for too long before blending and if you use a synthetic or water brush, you will have much better results. Thanks for the review & I hope this helps.
That was a useful review, Thanks. Actually glad I didn't get them, they are more marker than watercolor it seems. I like the versatility of watercolor.
Once you get used to them, they are brilliant. I use them for my professional work creating delicate flower paintings. 😉 I find the W&N watercolour paper is the best for using these Markers as they tend to stain and dry quickly on other papers. They also MIX very well together or with your usual watercolour paints. There is so much you can do with them , I finding more as I experiment.
I felt the same as you until I bought the tin of 12 and I LOVE using them so much I have bought 12 more different colours. These are great for outdoor plien air and for sketching as well as using them for detailed work in large paintings. In fact these are so useful for all kinds of art work and are great for times when I do not feel like using my lovely W&N brushes.
Thanks for another very interesting review! How about using the markers on wet (apply them like watercolours onto wet paper) Can you get any nice effects this way?
You'll get diffused edges. However, the colour will not diffuse as much compared to a watercolour brush wet on wet. And for some reason when applying the marker brush tip to wet surface, it seems to dilute the paint on the brush tip.
I don't know if somebody already said this but you can't really compare these to copics, prismacolor markers etc. and they shouldn't be used as such Those are alcohol based and the colors are made from dyes. These markers are made from actual watercolor pigments that are lightfast. You should also check out gee massam art. He has a few good tutorials on these and I have learned a lot from them. The paper type is also very important. Don't want to sound negative just wanted to tell the difference between these markers and alcohol based markers.
I have a bunch of these markers and I'm not too impressed 😐 they work best if I add water before they have dried but as you said in a response to another comment, they dry quickly. Also it is difficult to avoid streaks and pigment gathering/"hard outlines" when the pigment gets pushed around. My art supply store were discontinuing these markers since they didn't sell. I like the concept but they don't really fulfill my expectations 🙁
AND i have seen the price tag on them lol....I am still thinking twice about it. Though I use the felt tip pens to create my drawings I am always exploring new options :-)
The Arteza watercolor markers are fairly inexpensive and I like them a lot. They don’t lift as much as I would like, but they do lift and blend fairly well. I don’t use them for serious paintings much, but they are fun for sketching on the go.
The paper makes all the difference like with their pigment markers. Bockingford, Winsor and Newton, and Arches Oil papers seem to work well with these markers. That's about it so far. With these three, the markers are easily moved around with a wet brush and don't leave a stain where the marks were made. With the Arches Oil paper, I've gone back to a two week old painting and moved the color around as easily as if it was just laid down. Downside, you can't do any layering as the slightest hint of water will start to move the paint.
This is a really good review. You managed to experiment with the markers in pretty much every way I would have liked to myself. Your reviews always help me make more informed decisions when I go shopping for supplies. Thank you very much! :)
thanks for this great review. I saw these markers at the art supply store and they were quite expensive, and I was curious about how they worked. it seems like, compared to pan or tube watercolors they have a couple advantages, like speed and precision, but as you show, they don't really look like watercolors. I am curious, did you try drawing on wet paper with them? did you try wetting and blending them immediately? maybe they would have blended easier?
When applied to wet surface, the strokes will have diffused edges, but the paint won't travel far from the source. Also the wet surface will dilute the brush tip, making subsequent strokes lighter. Compared to tubes/pans with watercolour brush, colours can diffuse easily and wide.
Just like anything new, you have to work with the product for awhile, I have these Winsor & Newton Watercolor Markers...if you practice with them, you can get really good results, with a lot of control. They are also good to use in combination with tube or pan configured watercolors, for additional layering, shadows, and touchups. It's hard to figure out who these are marketed for, I guess, maybe for artist who prefer markers over regular watercolor pans? Regardless, these watercolor markers are not better, or easier to use, than artist quality watercolor pigments in pan or tube form and probably, in the end, not necessary.
You do fabulous reviews of art materials, I've just subscribed so I can keep an eye on your channel. Thank you for doing such thorough, informative reviews.
I own one of these markers, in pale rose. Not sure if it was the paper I was using but it didn't seem to work quite well for me. Anyway, thank you for the great review, Teoh.
You don't let the marker dry so much... then they work amazing. So don't color your entire picture and then go back with water. If you had read the directions that come with the markers you would have had a better experience.
I have these and even when I apply the water straight after putting the pen down you can see where I put the pen since it doesn't dissolve well I came to this video to see if I just didn't know how to use them but if it's a common problem I think it's the pens
I only use them for very stylised and flat colouring, such as shown in the video. Other than that I don't use them often because I don't like mixing colours with them, and it's very difficult to mix colours with them.
great review and recommendations, I value your opinion so much! I think its because you spend your own money on the things you use - some artists are getting the paints for free. Spending your own money means, to me, that you are a little more honest about how to use and how well you like them. I have to spend good money on my paint and supplies and can't afford to buy something I don't like. Thanks again, awesome review and followup.
You have to move the colour straight away not wait till its dry. These markers are amazing but still have a couple cons I have personally noticed as well. But compared to pan water colours they aint to bad. They are definitely good for travelling and being on the go which is what I carry around when out and about and wanting to paint a scenery i just throw these in my bag with a water bottle and my palette, easy.
Ehhhhhhh. At this point I'd say to just get the inktense travel set. Affordable and don't try to bullshit you with being artist grade. The small pans can be removed to draw with as well.
Watch ‘Gee massam art’ on his channel, he uses the markers right, he blends the markers really well, I knew the way you are demonstrating the use and blending from the start it will stain the paper before you even worked on it. You have to work quick and blend quickly, the markers don’t behave same way as traditional watercolour, I love the way ‘gee massam’ uses the markers, I’ll buy a set for myself as well.
The only reason to use these instead of alcohol ink markers would be the lightfast characteristics. Alcohol ink, or any dye based markers, aren't lightfast. And I would tend to use these as markers only. I don't see any benefit to using them for blending.
I think you missed one point I was eagerly waiting for and that's how well do these perform for wet on wet technique, like if you have a patch already wet and use these to add a tint of color. hope you can make a video about it. Thanks!
Thank you for the review - very helpful. I bought these a year ago. I took them out to do a landscape and thought they were absolutely awful - hard lines and no blending. Since they're a bit expensive so I felt I'd wasted money. But, I guess I wasn't used to using markers and didn't understand their characteristics. After seeing how you use them, I'll give them another go. However, I wouldn't buy these again.
I'm just using them like I would normal markers. Check out this video for its full potential. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bB5xI_Bh4K0.html
Thanks for the review of Strathmore tiles. The 300# 6" square looks like a good way to try out w/c on 300# paper without risking a full-size expensive sheet. I use a lot of 1-and 2-ply Bristol, but not heavier than that. And I work small anyway, so 6" X 6" is fine.
You need too blend them when they are still wet, use a heavy sized wood pulp, grumbacher works well with watercolor markers and you can dip the markers into water and create a gradient
Wow. Another fantastic presentation & review. Thanks, Teoh, for saving me the time and money on this product. I was considering these as a purchase, but think I'll hold off. Question: have you ever tried the Molotow empty pens and filling with watercolor? They are something I'm also interested to try, but there's not much information available on this usage. As always, so grateful for your efforts! Cheers! :)
+Mark Campbell I have not tried the Molotow empty pens. If you want to use watercolour, I think the best way or most enjoyable way is still to go with the tubes, pans and brushes or waterbrushes. Maybe I will check out those Molotow pens in the future.
I have 2 mini canvases I want a paint to draw out my drawing but can you tell me which paint is good ?? Is it ok If I just used normal watercolor ? Or it will ruin it ?? Please help I want this answerrrr😭😂😂😢😂😂💜
I just learned of these thinking they were new and wondered if Legendary Watercolor Reviewer Teoh had a review and it turns out they're not new at all! Still neat though and I look forward to getting a set to try.
I bought these about six months ago. To try them out I started a sketchbook of clay sculptures housed in the Archeological Museum here. First I learned you really do need marker paper. Something slippery. I did figure out how to mix colors and values by putting dots of the marker and then activating them with water and a brush. I also had to finish a few of them with water color pencils.
Teoh Yi Chie: Yes it works but the watercolor is not absorbed. I tried hot pressed Arches watercolor paper too which worked next best. The overall problem is that unless you want to use markers as one of your primary mediums it is hard and expensive to have the hundreds of colors needed to do a real painting. Might be worth trying to block in painting with markers and then do another layer with traditional watercolors or watercolor pencils.
Watching this video and you'd think these marker are really crappy if I wouldn't know, that all watercolor marker only work on cold press watercolor paper decent and even then they can stain the paper so much that you have to work with the marker lines. I found very few paper that work really well with watercolor marker. Watercolor marker are prima donnas but with the right paper fun to work with.
Finally having some time to catch up on your videos lol. I got these and I ended up not liking them so much because I felt like I had to activate the colors immediately or the initial swipe of color would stay, kind of like water soluble pens that leave a little bit of a mark. I gave them to a friend and kept the black one.
To blend, you have to work on wet surfaces and work quick. Here's a good video demonstrating that ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bB5xI_Bh4K0.html
I used to have a lot of Copic markers. They are nice. But expensive when you start buying more and more colours. The only colours I have now are grays and blacks. Advantage is they have a large number of colours.
I don't really use Copic markers to draw or colour. And when I do, it's usually to apply flat colours. I don't colour like gradations as I don't have that many colours. Markers are very portable and I like to use them to draw while I'm on the train.
Thanks for this review!!! I thought I was doing something wrong because i can't get the washout with these markers... Not a good investment for graduation of colours at least.
Very nice review Teoh ...thank you.Seems they would be best doing anime sketches maybe.I like the smooth and blended look of the regular watercolor brush painting.Def markers are not for me.🖌👍🏻✌🏻
I have six of these and three of them are extremely streaky, so much so that i never use them lol. I prefer watercolor tubes/pans. Doesnt destroy the paper
They are actually just reviews of products I buy with my own money. I bought this around a year ago. LOL. Didn't like it much and finally decided to just create a review for it. Whether it's good or bad, hopefully the review can show it.
Yeah. You have to work fast because it dries quite quickly. For blending or gradients, using waterbrush and pans is much easier, so the marker has no advantage.
I accidentally bought one of these when I mistook it as an alcohol marker. Now I'm here trying to figure out the heck I can do with it, because I can't return it.
Winsor and Newton is dying. No new video posting in the last 8 months. Defintely no longer the company we knew. No longer british high quality colours. No more commitment to the arts. They moved from UK to Le Mans in France in 2011 and fired 200 long time employees. Making a lot of money by selling the winsor and newton factory in Harrow to real estate companies. Terrible loss of knowledge, craftmanship and quality. Lot of colours are now made in China and France Using cheap plastic colour palettes. It's just another anonyme global company now, called Colart. Nothing genuine. Based on this latest change in manufacturing colours, products are completely overpriced. I use now Schmincke colours. A family owned manufacturer based in Germany. Highly commited to provide the best colours for more than 100 years. They offer an excellent range and quality of colours.
Kurmit Kurmit this person is pretty correct, Winsor and Newton has turned to corporate crap and it’s starting to show. The professional paints from my grandpa were the first ones that I had tried and they were amazing. The same colors that I tried to use now are lesser quality. Winsor and Newton still might be a decent brand when it comes to availability in America/UK and some of their products, but the drop in quality is painfully noticeable
+JLConawayII Just treat them as normal markers. To use the watercolour feature, you have to work really fast before the ink dries on paper. It's challenging.
Thx.. I thought so too.. but I might just return them after watching your review.... I have so many other items already.. watercolor paints, zig markers, etc... not sure I need these... even at 70% off!
